Friday, December 18, 2009

Just a year back big banks and financial institutions had defaulted big time in many developed nations, specially in US. Declaring themselves bankrupt overnight, these big financial institutions reported losses in billions of dollars on what we now know as sub prime crisis. So huge were the losses that US Govt alone injected more than $700 bn to resuscitate these dying financial institutions. Honest tax payers' money has been squandered to revive failed private US banks in one of the most aggressively capitalist nations of the world. Reason - these banks were too big to be allowed to fail. On the other hand, in 2009 alone 106 US banks had to close down, but they were not bailed out by US Fed. Reason - they were not big enough to be saved.

So what is the lesson to be learnt from here? Lesson is that as a business institution you have to bungle big time, show billions of dollars as debt in your books, borrow or leverage indiscriminately and then sit back and relax after blowing the whistle. You will face no problem because your government will bail you out since your bungling is too big. And once bailed out, you can then go about using the bailout money to enrich yourself with astronomically high bonuses. You can justify large bonuses by showing existence of big money in your books. So what if now the money in your books is honest taxpayers' money loaned to you by your government?You can be squatting smug on your haunches with the knowledge that, do what you may - you just cannot fail. You are too big to be allowed to fail!!

That is how investment bankers are using the bailout money in many countries. In fact in UK the public outrage has been such that Govt has now slapped 50% tax on bonuses that banks pay to their employees. As a result, Barclays recently announced a pay hike of 150% for 22000 of its investment bankers with retrospective effect from June 2009!! Take that - if you tax our bonuses then we have other means of looting tax payers' money.

Well so far so good. Big business institutions have been bailed out of thick financial soups by their respective governments. But in doing so these governments have become susceptible to credit crisis themselves. Governments, I agree, are again too big to be allowed to fail. And that is how we found Dubai getting bailed out by its neighbour, Abu Dhabi. For more details on Dubai bailout click this link here - http://archana-archdeb.blogspot.com/2009/12/debt-laden-dubai-when-will-woes-end.html

Abu Dhabi has given temporary reprieve to Dubai so as to maintain investor confidence in the region. But such actions of saving nations from becoming bankrupt will be possible only when there are only few and far between instances of sovereign default. What happens when most nations fall into a debt trap from which they cannot extricate themselves? Many developed European nations are on the brink of sovereign default. Greece, Spain, Ireland are some such names. Then there are a host of East European nations which are tottering under the burden of massive debt. Who will ultimately bail out whom?

The way even rich European nations are falling into debt trap, I wouldn't be surprised if lenders, as a species, totally vanish from the face of this earth. Germany is the richest nation in European Union and it also has spiraling debt in excess of 70% of its GDP. But wait a second! The biggest debt defaulter can be US in times to come. It is estimated that for the next 30 years US national debt will keep on increasing every year. Presently US Treasury has calculated the National Debt at $ 12.135 trillion. White House estimates a record $ 1.5 trillion deficit this year alone, and next 5-year deficit total of $ 4.97 trillion.

Now imagine a scenario in future when US defaults on its public debt. What will then happen to this global economy, which shook like an aspen leaf with the prospect of tiny Dubai defaulting? The total debt of Dubai, including all its state sponsored entities, is not more than $ 100 billion. Compare it with the present day US debt of $ 12135 billion. It is agreed that US is really too big to be allowed to fail. But tell me, who on this planet will be capable of bailing out US, in case it defaults??

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Fortnight ago Dubai World's request to its creditors for debt repayment restructuring plan had sent sentiments of global investors into a tizzy. In taking precautionary stance, global investors had exhibited an urgency to take cover at this slight bit of adverse news in global financial ecosystem. That amply indicates that risk taking appetite of global investors is surely on the wane. Otherwise, how do you explain a puny $ 26 bn expected default scaring the wits out of investors in South East Asia, across Indian Ocean to Europe and across Atlantic to the Americas?That's pandemic contagion, if you may!!

But why is the global investor getting spoofed so easily. Could it be that Dubai World episode portends destabilizing happenings in global financial ecosystem in days to come? Does Dubai World indicate that the cup of global financial woes is finally spilling over? Does Dubai epitomize the surreal world of tall dreams with borrowed money, whose nemesis is in offing? To get an answer to all that let us first understand the nuts and bolts of Dubai and Dubai World.

Dubai is one of the seven Emirates under the federal governance of UAE. It started off as a trade based oil-reliant economy but presently has turned itself on its head as a service and tourism oriented economy. This has been necessitated because of the belief that its oil reserve will last only twenty more years.

Dubai World is a state-owned conglomerate which deals in real estate, financial instruments and various other business ventures . Its real estate arm, Nakheel has to its credit the Palm Trilogy, three palm tree shaped man made islands, as also Burj Dubai, the tallest free standing 818m high man made structure being built. 'The World' is another extravagant real estate development project which aims at creating 300 islands off the coast of Dubai resembling the continents of the world. All such projects come at an exorbitant price and are insanely expensive for all parties connected with such projects.

It is estimated that the actual debt burden of Dubai's government-related-entities is 116% of emirate's GDP. That's what has prompted economist to put the tag of 'debt laden' to Dubai. Such a tag is also being put on fancied European countries like Greece and Spain. Many East European countries have also earned this sobriquet. So the global investor was spoofed not by the size of expected Dubai default, but that one sovereign default may trigger an avalanche of other sovereign defaults.

But now for some good news. Last Monday was pay time for Nakheel's bonds which had matured and the creditors could be paid off $4.1 bn. A bond default was avoided at the very last moment when Dubai's oil rich neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi came to its rescue with $10 bn dole, like a knight in shining armour. This total sum of $10 bn will see off debt servicing requirements of Dubai World till April 2010. What after that! Will Dubai have to periodically stick out the begging bowl for servicing debt of its state owned entities?

To get an answer to that and more, do watch this space in coming days.